Protein for the poor?

osualex
osualex Posts: 409 Member
Is there any way to get enough protein on a budget? I'm trying to scale back my spending and finding that meat is pretty expensive. I've looked online for cheap protein sources and most just say chicken, whey, and tuna - I already eat tons of chicken and whey and tuna are NOT cheap where I live. Any tips for getting 100+ grams of protein REALLY cheaply?

Replies

  • fallonrhea
    fallonrhea Posts: 388 Member
    I find that egg whites and cottage cheese help!

    Greek yogurt too!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Besides chicken, pork and eggs, if you want a whey, walmart has body fortress or you can find some online for cheap too.
  • dirtnap63
    dirtnap63 Posts: 1,387 Member
    Not trying to be snarky, but it might help if we knew where you lived , a general area would suffice (U.S, Europe, etc.):smile:
  • osualex
    osualex Posts: 409 Member
    Not trying to be snarky, but it might help if we knew where you lived , a general area would suffice (U.S, Europe, etc.):smile:

    Romania.
  • dirtnap63
    dirtnap63 Posts: 1,387 Member
    Not trying to be snarky, but it might help if we knew where you lived , a general area would suffice (U.S, Europe, etc.):smile:

    Romania.

    Thanks. Unfortunately I am not familiar with the costs of protein products in that part of the world. Maybe someone else here might, but you may need to ask this in the general forums to get a larger audience.
  • djdube525
    djdube525 Posts: 69 Member
    Any chance you can chip in with several people and buy a half cow, pig, whatever, or even a few turkeys and store your portion in a freezer? I would think cost per pound would be cheaper that way.
  • cjsacto
    cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
    Beans! Dry beans are cheap and provide protein and fiber.

    There are some surprising sources of protein, including many dark green veggies (kale, spinach, even romaine lettuce). Wheat has protein also.
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,089 Member
    If Romania is anything like Poland or Spain then whey is expensive, but if you look at price per gram of protein provided you will see that not more expensive than chicken or tuna. Here in Spain the cheapest source is chicken breast, second is canned tuna, and third protein powder.
    I eat a lot of chicken breast (5/week), also cheese and yogurt, but those are more expensive if you compare price by gram of protein provided
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Lentils and mozzarella cheese sticks, cottage cheese, milk and eggs.
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
    Offal.

    Seriously - if you can stomach it - it's dirt cheap. Over here, in New Zealand, Ox Heart costs about $5 a KG (1000grams), has a crapton of protein and tastes almost identical to a steak. It's generally cheap, because, well... people find the idea of eating hearts/liver/kidneys/etc unappealing for some reason. Weirdos.
  • osualex
    osualex Posts: 409 Member
    Thanks for all the responses! I think I will just up my consumption of milk, beans, and whatever meat is on sale. Whey I could order online, but definitely not until my next paycheck (it costs about a week's worth of groceries for me). I might be able to go straight to farmers and get some meat, in autumn i did that with beef, and got about 5 kilos for about 7 USD...it fed me for a good long while!
    I can't really do offal or innards though...tried it before and I can't get past the texture...